If you redeemed your GAD ticket, read this.

[DisneyRunner2009]

What kind of time frame did it take you, once you made it to guest relations? We are thinking of using our tickets at MK. It is EMH that morning, and I was wondering how much extra time we have to allot for this. Thanks.

 

[kid-at-heart]

I would also be interested in having this information.

 

[Bearvet]

Go to the Will Call window at each park which is to one side of the main ticket booths. We had an 8:05 AM ADR at CRT on a day when MK opened at 9:00. We were first in line when we arrived at 7:15; will call windows opened at 7:30, which is probably the same for an early EMH day?

It took under 10 minutes to do everything - we redeemed 2 vouchers: 1 for the 1-day ticket which we were able to upgrade right then and 1 for FPs for our group of 5. Everthing went very smoothly..... Have your vouchers, IDs and multi-day tickets (if getting FPs) ready when you get to the window.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Thanks! I'm glad to hear they let you upgrade the ticket right there. I wonder if that's the usual policy? I've heard that you have to enter the park then visit Guest Relations. I'd love to be able to skip a step.

I'd love to hear about other people's experiences too.

 

[famouschinesec]

Bearvet. On my first day at Disney I will be redeeming one voucher for a free one day ticket, which I will then upgrade, and then I will be redeeming one voucher for the GAD fastpass. Can I do it all at the same will call window? I don't know why but I had the idea, that I would need to 1. Redeem for the one day ticket at will call or TTC? 2. Go through the turnstile and go inside the park and then upgrade to a multi day ticket at guest services 3. Go back outside and redeem another voucher at will call for the fast pass. 4. Can I redeem the voucher for the one date ticket at TTC, and then deal with the rest later at the park? And if so, where. Thanks so much. We are going on March 26th and we will have 4 vouchers and only 3 days to use them until the blackout dates; so that leads to the doubling up on the first day. Any info or insight is appreciated.

 

[Bearvet]

I did everything at the Will Call window at the main entrance to MK. I'm not sure about a Will Call window at the TTC, since we were dropped off at the main MK entrance (I did this on purpose).

I would do things in the following order:
1. Exchange the voucher for the 1-day ticket.
2. Ask the CM if they can upgrade the 1-day ticket to multi-day right there. We were able to do this, but it's possible they will say no.
3. No matter what happens in #2, exchange the voucher for the FPs for your group. All members of your group must be present and have their ticket (it will work on the 1-day ticket you just received - we had this scenario at DHS).
4. If you were not able to upgrade the 1-day ticket at Will Call, you can do it at Guest Relations (I believe) anytime that day.

HTH

 

[DisneyNeophite]

it took about 10 minutes at the window, total

I redeemed 3 vouchers for one day tickets
I purchased a 2 day ticket for my son
I then redeemed the FastPass voucher using my son's multiday pass
On the way out I upgraded to a multiday at willcall

When I upgraded my single day pass to a multi day I had to give my plastic/credit card type ticket up and got the paper ticket. I wish the multiday tickets wern't so flimsy. they got soaked in my pocket in the rain on Monday

 

[doconeill]

famouschinesec, just to confirm - you have two vouchers, which must be in two different names, correct?

As Bearvet says, On person needs to redeem the GAD voucher for the ticket first, just so they have a ticket. You can ask about doing the upgrade at that point - they may or may not do it. If not, you can do it any time afterwards at any ticket booth or GR location.

The other person needs to ALREADY HAVE a multi-day ticket in hand in order to get the Fastpass option.

As for where, you would do it at the Will Call window for the appropriate park. For Epcot, DHS and AK it will be one of the ticket booths, with a Will Call sign. For MK, there is a Will Call ticket booth at the TTC, but it can also be done at the main gate at MK - usually it is the Guest Relations windows to the right of the turnstiles, on busier days they may use the round building nearby - there will be a sign with an arrow pointing to it.

 

[doconeill]

When I upgraded my single day pass to a multi day I had to give my plastic/credit card type ticket up and got the paper ticket. I wish the multiday tickets wern't so flimsy. they got soaked in my pocket in the rain on Monday

So the 1-day GAD ticket is on plastic stock? Interesting that they'd do that.

The Tyvek (it's not exactly paper) tickets are a lot more durable than people give them credit for. Here is my info on them:

The so called "paper" tickets are actually a material called Tyvek, and is very strong and waterproof. Strong enough that you may have heard of it before...they wrap houses in the stuff to protect it before putting on the siding.

CMs have reported that they have LESS issues with the Tyvek cards than plastic, especially with regards to the magnetic stripe.

Reasonable care should make them last perfectly fine. If it was a problem, Annual Passes wouldn't be issued on them.

That said, any ticket you get at WDW other than a KTTW card will generally be Tyvek.

It appears that tickets purchased from Disney and mailed to you are plastic. This may be due to them standing up better in the mail. From other sources they could be either.

I've also gotten plastic tickets from AAA, but have also heard of them issuing Tyvek tickets as well.

If you have ANY ticket issues, you should be able to get them reissued very easily. Having copies of the backs of the tickets may make it faster.

 

[Bearvet]

The 1-day GAD ticket is blue with Mickey on it. Looks just like the Donald FP card you receive. Both are hard plastic.

 

[doconeill]

The 1-day GAD ticket is blue with Mickey on it. Looks just like the Donald FP card you receive. Both are hard plastic.

Cool...I knew the FP card was plastic. I wonder if they did this for a souvenir, but if they make you surrender it I'm not sure the purpose.

 

[Bearvet]

The 2 people who joined us at DHS exchanged their GAD vouchers for 1-day tickets. They were only at WDW for the 1 day, so they didn't upgrade. I'll check to see if they still have them and try to post a pic.

 

[famouschinesec]

famouschinesec, just to confirm - you have two vouchers, which must be in two different names, correct?

As Bearvet says, On person needs to redeem the GAD voucher for the ticket first, just so they have a ticket. You can ask about doing the upgrade at that point - they may or may not do it. If not, you can do it any time afterwards at any ticket booth or GR location.

The other person needs to ALREADY HAVE a multi-day ticket in hand in order to get the Fastpass option.

As for where, you would do it at the Will Call window for the appropriate park. For Epcot, DHS and AK it will be one of the ticket booths, with a Will Call sign. For MK, there is a Will Call ticket booth at the TTC, but it can also be done at the main gate at MK - usually it is the Guest Relations windows to the right of the turnstiles, on busier days they may use the round building nearby - there will be a sign with an arrow pointing to it.

I actually have 4 vouchers in 4 different names and would prefer to have 4 days worth of GAD fastpasses, but I only have 3 days that are outside the blackout date of March 29th (Friday, March 26; Saturday March 27; and Sunday, March 28th). So I figured I would use 1 voucher for a 1 day pass on March 26th that I will then upgrade to a 9 day park hopper. I will purchase three, 9 day park hoppers, (probably from SOG ticket office). I'll have 3 more vouchers to use GAD fastpasses (26th, 27th, 28th). I guess I just wanted to make sure that I could use 2 vouchers on one day, and where all I needed to do it. I'm trying to maximize what I have to use, given the time constraints that I have to use them. We will not be back to Disney this year. Am I seeing this correctly or have I missed something? Thanks, you guys must get so tired of answering these questions.

 

[doconeill]

I actually have 4 vouchers in 4 different names and would prefer to have 4 days worth of GAD fastpasses, but I only have 3 days that are outside the blackout date of March 29th (Friday, March 26; Saturday March 27; and Sunday, March 28th). So I figured I would use 1 voucher for a 1 day pass on March 26th that I will then upgrade to a 9 day park hopper. I will purchase three, 9 day park hoppers, (probably from SOG ticket office). I'll have 3 more vouchers to use GAD fastpasses (26th, 27th, 28th). I guess I just wanted to make sure that I could use 2 vouchers on one day, and where all I needed to do it. I'm trying to maximize what I have to use, given the time constraints that I have to use them. We will not be back to Disney this year. Am I seeing this correctly or have I missed something? Thanks, you guys must get so tired of answering these questions.

Nope, it looks like you've got that right.

If you can, get the three other 9-days in advance of redeeming any vouchers (SOG office is fine) - less questions that way. Then at the will call window, turn one in for the free ticket (ask if you can upgrade then, if they will do it, great, otherwise do it later), and then turn another in for the Fastpass cards. Should be no problem. All of you need to be there with your tickets to get the Fastpass cards, and only the two of you redeeming vouchers should need to show ID.

 

[fan1080]

Cool...I knew the FP card was plastic. I wonder if they did this for a souvenir, but if they make you surrender it I'm not sure the purpose.

We just returned after using the GADGADD voucher.

We were also allowed to to all upgrades at the will call window. We added a day and park hopper.

The GAD ticket is plastic. It was issued to us, then voided. We were allowed to keep the GAD tickets for souvenirs. We were given the Tyvek tickets after the upgrade.

The experience was smooth and went fairly quick. It took about 10-15 minutes for all 5 of us.

 

[pixarmom]

We just returned after using the GADGADD voucher.

We were also allowed to to all upgrades at the will call window. We added a day and park hopper.

The GAD ticket is plastic. It was issued to us, then voided. We were allowed to keep the GAD tickets for souvenirs. We were given the kevlar tickets after the upgrade.

The experience was smooth and went fairly quick. It took about 10-15 minutes for all 5 of us.

This is great news again! After many changes in plans, we want to redeem GAD and upgrade to an AP at the International Gateway as early as possible in the morning, check into BC with our AP for the AP rate, and then try to get back to the IG for rope drop. I really appreciate all the reports from those who have been able to complete their upgrades all at once - if that happens for us, our plan will work!

I understand the same-day use requirement, and the reason a guest would technically need to go through the turnstiles before upgrading. But has anyone reported a CM requiring this process yet?

 

[KathVA]

and I'm planning on using them for the special FP. We are buying our multi-day tickets in advance (through Army MWR) and then we will pick three of the parks to use the GAD to get our FP. I think we will not use the GAD for AK. Not that many FP rides there that we all will be getting on.

Kath